US needs to temper reliance on at-risk-undersea internet cables, satellites can help: Arospace

By Theresa Hitchens, Published by Breaking Defense, 3 February 2022 "Undersea cable infrastructure is ripe for sabotage," said Karen Jones, one of the authors of the study. WASHINGTON: Some 430 undersea fiber optic cables carry 99% of intercontinental internet traffic, and those lifelines of global commerce are highly vulnerable to

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The evacuation of Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, as imaged by Planet’s Skysat satellite Aug. 23, 2021. Credit: Planet Labs

Report: U.S. military needs a better way to buy commercial satellite imagery

By Sandra Erwin, Publishd by SpaceNews, 2 February 2022 CSIS: 'One of the biggest obstacles for the U.S. government to effectively access commercial space capabilities is the acquisition and contracting system' WASHINGTON — The U.S. military and intelligence community have a growing demand for satellite imagery but their acquisition methods

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UK space defence to get £1.4bn boost

Posted on ADS Advance, 1 February 2022 The UK will invest £1.4 billion to bolster our national interests in space, as part of the first Defence Space Strategy published today. Following publication of the National Space Strategy in September last year, the Defence Space Strategy (DSS) outlines how Defence will

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The ESA’s Spacecraft Can Refuel, Refurbish, and Boost Satellites in Orbit

By Loukia Papadopoulos, Published by Interesting Engineering, 31 January 2022 Called 'e.Deorbit', it could change everything. Desperate times call for desperate measures. According to the European Space Agency (ESA), there are 128 million objects the size of 1 mm to 1 cm, 900,000 objects the size of 1 cm to 10 cm, and 34,000 objects greater

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Visualization of a near encounter in geostationary orbit between USA 270 and Chinese satellites Shiyan-12 (01, 02). Credit: COMSPOC

China’s Shijian-21 towed dead satellite to a high graveyard orbit

By Andrew Jones, Published by Space News, 27 January 2022 HELSINKI — China’s Shijian-21 space debris mitigation satellite has docked with a defunct Chinese satellite to drastically alter its geostationary orbit, demonstrating capabilities only previously exhibited by the United States. Data and tracking from space monitoring firms show that Shijian-21

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